January 13, 2012 9:00pm ESTJanuary 13, 2012 11:47am ESTJoe Flacco's success in the regular season hasn't translated to the postseason. A good playoff run this year—beginning Sunday at home against the Texans—can change all that.

Win Sunday against the Houston Texans in an AFC divisional playoff game. Win the Super Bowl next month. Hold the Lombardi Trophy high above his head and celebrate winning the big one with his Baltimore Ravens’ teammates.

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Until that happens, Flacco figures he will keep getting flak, regardless of what he does.

“We’ve won a lot of games around here,” Flacco told reporters this week. “This is the second year in a row we’ve won 12 games. Do you see the criticism sometimes and say, 'What the hell are they talking about?’ Yeah, but who cares? It all comes down to the three games—win this one, win the next one, win the Super Bowl. What are they going to say? That’s what we got to do, and that’s what I got to do. Not really thinking about anything else.”

However, here’s the reason Flacco gets flak. His playoff performance has been dramatically worse than his regular-season performance.

Through four NFL seasons, here are some of Flacco’s key career numbers in the regular season—80 TD passes, 46 interceptions, 60.8 completion percentage, 86.0 passer rating.

For the Ravens to win a Super Bowl, Flacco must raise his game when the stakes and level of competition rise. The Texans have talked all week about the respect they have for Flacco, but their defensive game plan is crystal clear. Houston wants to contain running back Ray Rice and force Flacco to carry the offense. If the Texans can accomplish that, they will take their chances.

“Teams that have played them well, they’ve done a good job stopping the run game and then putting the ball in Flacco’s hands and putting pressure on him, making him make those right decisions to make the right throws,” Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans said. “It’s going to be first and foremost shutting down the run game and then putting it in Flacco’s hands.”

The Ravens’ offense is not designed for “Air Flacco.” In 71 career games, regular season and playoffs, Flacco has attempted 40 passes or more only six times. The Ravens have a terrific defense. They have an elite back in Rice. So they ride their strengths.

The formula works, at least during the regular season. The Ravens have made the playoffs the past four years, and Flacco’s solid play has been an important part of that winning equation. Flacco is not given the chance to put up the gaudy statistics that some of his peers do. But he wins. That means a lot to Texans coach Gary Kubiak and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.

“I think he’s dang good,” Kubiak said. “He’s won a lot of football games, and that’s the bottom line in this league.”

“Four years in a row in the playoffs?” Phillips said. “I mean, the quarterback has to be a big part of that. I think he’s a top-notch quarterback that’s going to be a challenge for us.”

However, the Texans had the league’s second-ranked defense this season, after making tremendous improvement under Phillips. The Texans hope to pressure Flacco in the pocket, fool him with different looks and keep him from establishing a rhythm.

“He can be a little streaky, but when he’s on he’s on, and we’ve seen that before, so we’ll try to make him uncomfortable,” Texans linebacker Brian Cushing said.

As the AFC’s No. 2 seed, the Ravens face enormous pressure to reach the Super Bowl this season. For the first time in Flacco’s career, they have a home playoff game. They were unbeaten at home (8-0), including a 29-14 victory over the Texans in October.

Letting the upstart Texans walk into Baltimore and win Sunday, starting a rookie quarterback in T.J. Yates, would be devastating for the Ravens. Key defensive stars Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are at the tail end of their careers. They can’t count on many more seasons—or many more Super Bowl opportunities.

Flacco understands the magnitude of the situation. Say what you want about his playoff statistics, but he has a 4-3 postseason record, and he won at least one playoff game in each of his first three seasons.

“This is what a player lives for is playoff time,” Flacco said. “Having to win tight games. I think that’s what I … that’s what we all really want to be in a position to do.”

Returning to the subject of the criticism he receives, Flacco said at one point, “I’m sure if we win, I’ll have nothing to do with why we won, according to you guys.”

But, actually, Flacco will have plenty to do with why the Ravens win—or lose—this postseason.